


A Bad Day

by Bubbly_Kandy



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Dipper Pines Needs A Hug, Dipper goes mute after his panic attack, Dipper stims a few times, Good Grunkles!, Panic Attacks, Trans Dipper Pines, but he is ok do not worry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-05
Updated: 2018-05-05
Packaged: 2019-05-02 10:24:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,480
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14542677
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bubbly_Kandy/pseuds/Bubbly_Kandy
Summary: Dipper was not having a good day.





	A Bad Day

Dipper was not having a good day.

 

He woke up late, missing breakfast (though Soos taken pity and gave him some toast, which was burned, but still food,) and then finding out that Mabel was going to be gone all day with Candy and Grenda, which would be  _ fine  _ on a normal day _ ,  _ but he had lost his medicine in a messy pile of papers yesterday and he really didn’t want to go looking for the pill bottle at the exact moment. 

 

Not to mention his binder basically said “I don’t want to be a binder anymore” and broke, meaning he was to walk around with a sports bra on all day, which really wasn’t that bad, since his chest was already feeling tight and weird, and just-  _ ugh.  _

 

He tried to walk quietly past Wendy, but she caught sight of him and got him involved in a conversation about whether or not Disney would buy the story of their small town and make it into a show (Dipper thinks not, because their small town’s story is  _ way  _ too scary for little kids, and isn’t Disney all about kids’ shows?)

 

Then Grunkle Stan told him that Mabel was going to do an all-day-all-night sleepover with Candy and Grenda, which meant that Dipper would have to sleep all by himself in their room for  _ two days,  _ which nearly flung him into tears until Grunkle Stan unknowingly pulled him out of by reminding him that he would need to take his Testosterone shot tomorrow, so he needs to prepare for that and remind ol’ Grunkle Stan so that he doesn’t forget, hm?

 

Dipper was really not having a good day.

 

So, as a line in his weak defense, he locked himself in he and Mabel’s room all day, re-reading all of the journals both normally and under black light, which took up a good few hours, until Grunkle Ford knocked on the door, making Dipper yelp, jump, and drop the books in only a few seconds. His heart rate sped up worryingly, which lead to him holding a hand to his chest, closing his eyes, and taking in deep breaths as the two talked.

 

“Dipper, you alright?”

 

“U-uh, yeah! What is it, Grunkle Ford?”

 

Grunkle Ford wants to go in the woods, which Dipper almost denies, but then he remembers that this is summer and he hasn’t been outside all day, so maybe it’s a good idea. He half-heartedly kicked the journals and his notes under his bed, pulls his converse on, pats his head to make sure his hat is still there, and unlocks the door, sharing a smile with Ford before they jog downstairs and gather some food and other supplies before walking out.

 

Dipper feels like his day is changing for the better.

 

Dipper was absolutely, painfully wrong.

 

It all started when a dumb gnome decided to be ‘funny’ (note the quotation marks) and jump out at the pair, causing Dipper to shriek loudly and Grunkle Ford to have a rather alarmed bodily reaction as well. Ford placed a hand on Dipper’s shoulder, trying to help ground him to reality, which wasn’t really working because  _ oh no what if I caused something else to happen? I just basically killed Grunkle Ford and I don’t wanna die, I don’t wanna die, I- _

 

“-on? Dipper, my boy, are you alright?” Ford sounds so far away, and Dipper really does try to focus, but he’s spiraling so fast, and his ears are ringing and his vision is fuzzing out and he feels sick and and and  _ and- _

 

Someone’s patting his face, then Dipper feels his body be set up by a tree, the texture slowly dragging him back to earth as Ford’s face slowly comes into view, and Dipper knows he’s being told to breathe, so he does, quick, sharp breaths that make him dizzier and-

 

_ “Slowly, my boy, slowly,”  _ Ford tells him, so Dipper tries to follow his instructions, but it’s hard until Ford places one of Dipper’s hands on his own chest, and Dipper feels strong, deep breaths that he tries to replicate for a while until he can hear and see again, and he doesn’t feel like puking all over the place. 

 

He wants his pen, or one of Mabel’s sweaters,  _ something  _ to keep his hands busy. Instead, he’s lying against a tree trunk, sniffing and avoiding eye contact with Ford, who looks as equally anxious and uncomfortable. There’s a stretched out silence that goes on until Dipper yawns, and Ford clears his throat. Dippers’ hands go to scrub against the grass, forcing feeling back into his hands and arms.

 

“Should I, uh… Should I get you home?” Ford asks, and Dipper nods. “Stan was always better at handling this than I, so, um…” Ford clears his throat again, then holds out a hand to Dipper, then jerkily pulls it away. “Is touch alright, my boy?”

 

Dipper takes in a shaky breath, rubbing his eyes and accepting the hand that Ford gave to him, standing on wobbly legs. Ford mumbles “easy, there,” and puts a steadying hand on Dipper’s shoulder, the two of them making the slow trek to the Shack. 

 

Once at the front of the Shack, Dipper tries to hide behind Ford, only pointing at Wendy and Soos and Melody when Ford starts to ask why. Ford understands, and he keeps Dipper close to his side and walks into the Shack with an moody aura, staring straight ahead to the living room with no casualties. Stan is in the kitchen, so Ford sets Dipper on the easy chair with a blanket before going to meet his brother in the kitchen, probably to tell him what happened.

 

_ “Why the long face, Sixer?” _

 

_ “No matter. Do you remember what Ma would do when one of us would have a panic attack?” _

 

_ “What the hell did you do to my nephew?!” _

 

_ “YOUR nephew? He’s mine too, Stanley!” _

 

Uh oh.

 

Dipper hyper-fixates on a corner on the television set, feeling his mind retreat into a fuzzy, half-awake state that helped him recover from his panic attacks, not hearing the hushed argument the two older men were having just a room away. All Dipper knows is that television corner, he knows every knob and every impurity in the grey, every slight bump and crevice, he-

 

“-per? Hey, kid, get outta your head, yeah?” Grunkle Stan is suddenly standing in front of him, holding his arms out cautiously as Dipper blinks back to reality once again. “Your Grunkle Ford and I, we made you some tea, so drink up, hear?” 

 

Ford gives a steaming cup of light orange tea to him, and Dipper focuses on the warmth it gives his hands, humming his thanks quietly and taking a small sip, running the tip of his finger over the rim as Grunkle Stan hears a customer walk in and he walks out of the room, rubbing his hand over Dipper’s head and pulling his hat over his eyes affectionately before bumping into Ford, whispering  _ “Talk, keep him out of his head for a while,”  _ before a louder, “Drink up kid, or else I’ll have to pour it down your throat,” that was directed towards Dipper.

 

Then he and his Grunkle Ford were alone. Two awkward, anxious, paranoid people, alone.

 

Uh oh.

 

Dipper feels the steam from the tea on his face, and he sharply inhales the slightly spicy scent of ginger before taking another sip and hearing Ford sit on the ground beside him, Dipper’s foot bumping his shoulder by accident. The silence stretches on and on, until Ford pulls out a few papers from his jacket and spreads them out on the floor, Dipper looking over his shoulder curiously.

 

“Remember a few weeks ago, when I found that mushroom creature that was living in Mabel’s pillowcase?” 

 

Dipper nods, taking a long sip of tea before setting it down on the table next to the easy chair, leaning over as to see the notes more clearly. His fingers start rubbing over the texture of the chair, waking himself up a little more.

 

“Well, I’ve looked at the anatomy, and I saw that it’s not been mutated by anything. It had a completely unique skeleton, nervous system, everything! So, that must mean-”

 

“There’s more like it? Like, a species?” Dipper’s voice rasps, causing Ford to look up at him, a proud smile spreading across his face.

 

“Exactly. Also, the little guy was trying to go southeast, so I’m assuming he has a natural tracking instinct to go back to his home.” 

 

The implication caused Dipper to smile, a matching grin on Ford’s face as he looked up at his grand nephew, who was leaning forward excitedly for what Ford was going to say next. 

 

“How about we find where this mushroom creature is from?” Ford asked, Dipper nodding rapidly as his hands flapped happily.

 

“Yes!!” 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! I'll definitely write more for this fandom in the future!


End file.
